On Friday, April 25, 2014, the three young men dubbed the NATO 3 -- Brent Betterly, Jared Chase and Brian Jacob Church -- received sentences for the offenses of "mob action" and "possession of an incendiary device with intent to commit arson."

Having the state live up to its legally binding obligations to the city is worth fighting for. That is especially so when the alternative amounts to a complete abandonment of every principle that has made our society worth living in.